“With the possible exception of Introductory Chemistry, courses in Calculus bear more responsibility than any other subject for undergraduates leaving the STEM path (Weston et al., 2019).” — Page 1 of the report

“Though the demographics of Calculus students and their reasons for taking the course have changed dramatically in the past 50-plus years, the course itself has seen little change (Teague, 2017). Likewise, the meritocratic narrative common to STEM and Calculus has been decades in the making. Updating it for a more equitable future will require dedicated resources and leadership to redesign practices that leave far too many capable students behind.” — Page 19 of the report

“…'[M]ost college Calculus I classes in the United States contain students who are completely new to the terminology and concepts of calculus and students who have already demonstrated proficiency in all of the topics to be covered in that course,” notes Bressoud (2021, p. 521). Because of racially disparate access to Calculus in high school, minoritized students, particularly Black students, are most likely to be at a disadvantage because they are encountering Calculus for the first time (Tough, 2021), all the more so when A’s and B’s are rationed.” — Page 8 of the report

“What successful efforts also have in common is that they center changes around supporting students and understanding their contexts, to ensure that their prior math preparation doesn’t dictate their destinies.” — Page 19 of the report

“With the nation’s largest and most diverse systems of higher education, California will be central to efforts to ensure that Calculus serves as an on-ramp to STEM success for a broader population. The state produces nearly one-eighth of the nation’s STEM degrees.” — Page 20 of the report

“In terms of access to Calculus, University of California students were almost three times as likely to enroll in Calculus in Fall 2019 as were California State University students, a probable reflection of the UC system’s more selective admissions requirements and emphasis on STEM disciplines. UC admits predominantly come from the top one-eighth of high school graduates statewide, with nearly two-thirds of them having taken at least one AP math course (i.e., AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, and/or AP Statistics) in high school, as compared with just over 40 percent of CSU admits (Asim et al., 2019, p.14, Figure 10).” — Page 20 of the report

“Community college students were proportionally less likely to enroll in Calculus than undergraduates in the university systems, a likely reflection of the community colleges’ multiple missions…. Still, by virtue of the CCC’s large enrollment (more than 1.5 million students), more of their students (21,934) took Calculus in Fall 2019 than at the other two systems combined (18,231).” — Page 20 of the report

“What is consistent across both university systems is that fewer of the Black and Latinx students who took Calculus did so in their first year than did White and Asian students, again an indication that prior math preparation affects students’ momentum. As discussed on page 8, delayed enrollment in Calculus can reduce students’ persistence and progress into a STEM degree.” — Page 21 of the report

“The system data also revealed gender disparities in Calculus enrollment, particularly at the CSU, where the Calculus course–taking rate of males was 2.5 times that of females: only 10 out of every 1,000 females enrolled in Fall 2019 took Calculus that term, compared with 25 out of every 1,000 males. As a result, despite making up 56 percent of the student body, females accounted for just 35 percent of CSU students enrolled in Calculus in Fall 2019 (which is, however, close to the 38 percent of that fall’s STEM majors who were female). Community colleges displayed a similar pattern: Females constituted 53 percent of students and 36 percent of Calculus takers. The gender gap was smallest at UC, where females made up 54 percent of the student body and 44 percent of Calculus enrollees.” — Page 21 of the report

“Disparities in completion by income at the universities were even more pronounced, with lower-income students less likely to succeed in Calculus: At both systems, the DFW rates of students with Pell Grants were double or nearly double that of non-Pell students…. At the CCC, though DFW rates were higher, they were notably less varied by income….” — Page 22 of the report

Pamela Burdman, a policy analyst and strategist on equitable college access, readiness, and success, is the founder and Executive Director of Just Equations, a policy institute focused on reconceptualizing the role of mathematics in education equity. She began her career as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and first focused on math equity issues as a program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, working with the early developers of new college statistics pathways. She is the author of numerous reports and articles on math opportunity that have influenced policy changes in K–12 and postsecondary math education in California and beyond. She earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and East Asian studies from Princeton University and a master’s in business administration and master’s in Asian studies from UC Berkeley.

Melodie Baker is the National Policy Director at Just Equations, where she works to advance the role of math education in promoting equity through national partnerships and policy initiatives. A nationally recognized education leader and advocate, Baker has devoted her career to expanding opportunities for students. She has chaired various national and statewide initiatives, including the Coalition for Community Schools and Raising New York, and was recently tapped to serve on New York’s Reimagining Education Advisory Council to devise strategies for reopening schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining Just Equations in 2020, she was director of education for the United Way in Buffalo, New York. Baker earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Buffalo State College, a master’s in executive leadership and change from Daemen College, and is finishing a doctorate in educational psychology and quantitative methods at SUNY Buffalo.

Francesca Henderson, Just Equations’ Math Educator in Residence, serves as in-house math education expert as well as liaison to the larger mathematical community. She is a career educator with a range of experiences and a passion for social justice and equity. She has worked as a researcher, high school math teacher, vice principal, curriculum designer, and education consultant. Her current research focuses on the transition from high school to college, and the role of mathematics in supporting or hindering the college-going process. Henderson received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from San Diego State University and a master’s in education from High Tech High Graduate School of Education, where she also teaches graduate students about positive school cultures and equitable discipline practices. She is pursuing a doctorate in mathematics education at the University of Maryland.

Written by Just Equations, the report is based on a synthesis of roughly 200 sources (including books, book chapters, journal articles, research reports, and other online and print sources) and interviews with 13 experts inside and outside of California. (See report or Acknowledgments section for full list of interviewees.)